Facets
by Marionette
Summary: Hermione decides that Draco Malfoy's class ring just doesn't suit him at all, and she can tell him why, too. Not really romance. Present from G and Aria. Please rr!


Hermione Granger sat sideways in a large, overstuffed armchair, legs draped over one side, back against the other rest. Her arm was in the air a foot in front of her face, and her neck was tilted back, looking at her hand appreciatively. She smiled at the small ornament that decorated the ring finger of her right hand. It was almost silly, she thought, that she got so much pleasure from so inconsequential an object. In fact, there was no almost about it.  
  
She'd worked hard for seven years, gotten top marks, and as her payment. . .this.  
  
Jewelry had never been her forte. Her former roommates, Parvati and Lavender, loved it with a passion, yet her taste for it had never really developed. She owned a few odds and ends: a rare necklace, the occasional bracelet, a few pairs of earrings. Yet, she definitely knew what she liked, and she liked this ring.  
  
Her Hogwarts class ring.  
  
She smiled again.  
  
The seventh year class had ordered them at the end of the previous year, and Hermione had almost not gotten one. They were horridly expensive, yet she'd owled the form over to her parents, just so they could see the different offers. They'd told her they would pay for one as a gift for doing so well in school. Appreciative, Hermione had ordered a modest style (with a modest price).  
  
When they'd been delivered in December, Hermione had forgotten about them completely. She'd picked hers up after dinner the night the jeweler was there, opened the box, and. . .  
  
. . .completely fell in love.  
  
A small curved pattern decorated either side of the band, surrounding the year of her graduation. On the inside, the Hogwarts seal had been burned into the ring, along with her initials and "HEAD GIRL". Yet her favorite part was the jewel; an emerald startling enough to rival Harry Potter's eyes. She giggled as the light hit one of the facets, making it sparkle in the dim light of the room; suddenly, she knew where Lavender and Parvati were coming from!  
  
"Oh, please, not that thing again. You've had it for what, a week? Hasn't it lost it's appeal yet?"  
  
A frown crossed her face as a distinctly male voice interrupted the giddy examination of her ring, and her hand dropped from the air back to her side. Not bothering to get up, she twisted in the chair to see the Head Boy entering their shared common room. "Hello to you too, Draco." She replied, before turning onto her back once again, this time staring at the ceiling.  
  
"I can't believe you're still staring at that thing, though. Everyone got one, what is so special about it?"  
  
Disturbed yet again, Hermione huffed and rolled off the chair into a standing position. "It's special because it's mine." She said, as if it were the most obvious thing she'd ever heard. She paused, then, "I never saw yours."  
  
"I didn't get one."  
  
"Yes, you did. Everyone got one, according to you." He glared at her as she flashed him a smile. Then, grudgingly, he pulled his hand out of the pocket of his robe and showed her the bulky ring on his finger. Stepping forward, she grabbed his hand and brought it closer to her face, completely disregarding the look of disgust that was on his face. She inspected the ring for a moment, then as suddenly as she'd moved, she dropped his hand.  
  
"It's black."  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Why, yes. You know your colors, good job."  
  
She shook her head and wrinkled her nose distastefully. "It doesn't suit you at all."  
  
Staring at her, exasperated, he shoved his hand in his pocket and moved away from her. "And since when did you become such a great expert on rings? What do you know, anyway?"  
  
Shrugging, she moved back to her chair. "I guess I don't know much about rings. But I know that it doesn't suit you. I mean, you got a smooth, black stone."  
  
"You've made it quite apparent that you're good at stating the painfully obvious."  
  
Rolling her eyes at him, she flopped onto her back once again, her arm in the air. "You just wear so much black." Ignoring his snort at her words, she kept on, "And what were you thinking at getting a smooth stone?'  
  
"And what would you have recommended, Granger?" he asked mockingly, not even waiting for his answer as he turned to go to his room.  
  
"Something faceted. Like you."  
  
He paused and turned, a look of confusion clearly written on his face. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Well. . .facets. My jewel is faceted, right? And when you hold it up," she sat up brought the ring higher, pointing it toward the light, "it reflects."  
  
"I'm not following."  
  
"That's because I'm not done yet. You see, with a faceted ring, there are all these different faces-"  
  
"I'm well aware of what facets are, Granger."  
  
She glared at him to be quiet, "So in that way, it's like you. You have a smirky, I'm-better-than-you face, the cold fish I-can't-believe-that- mudblood-just-answered-that-question-before- me face, the I'm-going-to- murder-Potter face-"  
  
"Point please, Granger."  
  
"But it always seems like there are an infinite number of facets on my ring. And they never all catch the light at the same time. It's almost like some never see light at all. And that's like you, as well. You have all the faces that you let the world see, and then the ones that you don't want anyone to know you have."  
  
He shot daggers at her with my eyes. "You don't know anything about me."  
  
She rolled her eyes at his attack. "I know you should have gotten a ring with facets." Then, not bothering to wait for his reply, she flipped onto her back, lifted her arm in the air, and sighed happily.  
  
A pause, then: "You're a weird girl, Granger."  
  
He entered his bedroom to the sound of her laughter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, the characters, anything like that.  
  
A/N: Merry Christmas, G and Aria. This your joint present, simply because I couldn't think of anything else to write.  
  
Inspired by my class ring, which I find endlessly fascinating.  
  
I'm not sure if this fic makes much sense at all. Haha. Sorry I couldn't write a better Christmas present, you guys. Ha. I apologize for atrocious grammar, misspelled words, mistakes that I didn't catch, etc. Aria's my beta, and I couldn't very well send her her present, could I?  
  
Happy Holidays to everyone. Please review! 


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